Let's take our Bibles and turn
to the book of Zechariah. Just find Malachi and go back
toward the front. Just a couple of books and you'll
find Zechariah. Zechariah chapter two. Zechariah two. I've entitled this message Christ's
protection and glory of his church. The Lord had sent a prophet named
Zechariah to Israel. Now Israel, you know, the nation
of Israel, is a type. It's a picture. of the elect
of God. The elect of God, they're the
true Jews. They're the Jews. And what Zechariah
was told to do by the Lord was to tell Israel of God's pleasure,
good pleasure, to show mercy. That's what every God-called
preacher declares. As he declares the glory of Christ, Moses said, show me your glory.
Here's the glory of Christ. I will have mercy. I will have
compassion on whomsoever I will. That is his glory. They're God's people, God's remnant,
God's elect. But the elect of God were corrupted. in Adam's transgression. They fell in the garden. And having fallen in the garden,
they deserve, they deserve the wrath of God. That's what they
deserve. They deserve hell. Why? Because now we're all an
unclean thing. All of our righteousnesses are
as filthy rags. According to the good pleasure
of God, God is going to show mercy. God Almighty is going
to forgive His people. He's going to forgive His own.
In Micah chapter 7, Micah wrote this one verse that we quote
so much. Micah 7, 18 says, who is a God
likened to thee? that pardoneth iniquity, and
passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage,
he retaineth not his anger forever, because he delighteth in mercy. So Almighty God is going to show
mercy. He's gonna show forgiveness. He's gonna forgive his people.
And he told Zechariah, you go tell them that. You go tell them
I'm gonna do that. In Zechariah 1, verse 16, 17,
listen to what he said. Thus, therefore, thus saith the
Lord. This is Zechariah's message to
him. I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies. My house shall
be built in it, saith the Lord of hosts, and a line shall be
stretched forth upon Jerusalem. Cry yet saying, thus saith the
Lord of hosts, my cities through prosperity shall yet be spread
abroad. And the Lord shall yet comfort
Zion and shall yet choose Jerusalem. Well, seeing that God has sent
him to preach this truth, God gave him a vision. And scripture
in this vision spoke of what the Lord was going to do, how
he was going to He was gonna dwell and He was gonna protect
His people. I wanna just look at the first
five verses of chapter two of Zechariah. Let's read those first
five verses. I lifted up mine eyes again and
looked, and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand.
Then said I, whither goest thou? And he said unto me, to measure
Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof. What is the
length thereof? And behold, the angel that talked
with me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him, and
said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem
shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men
and cattle therein. For I, saith the Lord, will be
unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory
in the midst of her. Zechariah, by revelation of the
Lord, said he looked and he saw a man with a measuring line in
his hand. Now, who could this man be? Well,
let scripture be its own interpreter. That's the best way. Let scripture
speak for itself. Let's consider a couple other
verses, passages that deal with measuring, measuring, determining
the length and the breadth, determining all the characteristics of whatever,
whatever. Look at Job chapter 38. Turn
back, hold your place in Zechariah there. Turn to Job 38. This is
a passage of scripture that we've considered before Job 38, verses one to five. Then the Lord answered Job out
of the whirlwind and said, who is this that darkens counsel
by words without knowledge? Gird up now thy loins like a
man, for I will demand of thee and answer thou me. Where was
thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare it if thou
hast to understand it. Who has laid the measures thereof,
if thou knowest? Or who has stretched the line
upon it? Here's what the Lord asked him.
Who made all this? Who determined how long a day
was gonna be? Who determined that? Who determined
where the mountains were gonna be and where the seas were gonna
be? Who established the stars, the
patterns? Who put all this? Who put plants
in this world to make oxygen so we could continue to breathe
and not run out of something to breathe? Who did all that?
God asked him, well, where were you? Where were you when I did
this? You know? Turn over, hold your
place still in Zechariah, turn to Isaiah 40, Isaiah chapter
40. Isaiah 40 and verse 12. Isaiah 40, 12, who has measured
the waters in the hollow of his hand and meted out heaven with
a span, comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure and
weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance. Here's what we know. Genesis
1, 1, in the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. The Spirit of God moved upon
John to write John 1, 1-3. John 1, 1-3, In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made
by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. So the Lord's made everything.
He's measured everything. He's determined the boundaries
of everything. Everything works because God
made it that way. After he had created everything,
scripture says, and God looked and he saw that all that he created,
it was very good. It was very good. Well, back in Zechariah 2, concerning
the Lord being the one is the man, Christ Jesus, the God-man. I lifted up mine eyes, Zechariah
2, 1, and looked, and behold, a man with a measuring line in
his hand. And what did he say he was there
to measure? Well, verse 2 says, then said
I, this is Zechariah, asking him, where there goest thou?
And he said to me, to measure Jerusalem, to see what is the
breadth thereof and what is the length thereof. The man that Zechariah saw was
the Lord setting forth the truth of the boundaries of his people,
of Jerusalem, heavenly Jerusalem, the bounds of his people. Now,
I know this. There's a truth set forth here
that is to be adhered to and trusted
and believed. God sets the bounds of his people. I'm here to measure Jerusalem. It's God Almighty that chose
his people. We didn't choose ourselves. It's the Lord that
was pleased to show mercy to a people. It's not our choice. I know this. that the Lord has
established the bounds, the breadth and the length thereof of his
people. The measurement of his Jerusalem
is all according to his will and purpose and good pleasure.
I know that. And while that breadth and that
length of measurement may certainly refer to the number of them.
When he says, I'm gonna measure them, I know that we could say,
well, he knows how many there are. There's no doubt about it.
God's got a people. He knows them. The Lord said,
I know my sheep. They're a multitude that no man
can number. God can. But this measurement
of breadth and length of God's people can also set forth the
boundary that is determined, required for acceptance with
him. I'm gonna set, if you're gonna
build a house, first thing you need to do, unless you're a whole
lot smarter than anybody else in this world, you need a blueprint. You need a blueprint. And you're
going to have to find out. Everything's going to have to
be determined. Everything's going to have to be measured. It's
going to have to be established. It's going to have to be set
down and adhered to if it's going to fit, if it's going to work.
Almighty God, before the foundation of the world, determined All
that he would ever do. All that he ever saved. He made
everything. Established all this world. This
world was created for God's glory and for the good of his people.
They're going to inhabit this place and he's going to be with
them. I know this. This world is corrupted. God's going to burn it up, but
he's going to make another one. I'm just going to say this. I'm
just, this is just my thoughts right here. When the Lord made
this world, and he saw that it was very good, it was very good. And the world to come, what do
you think it's gonna be? If this one was very good, this
is very good, what do you think the next one's gonna be? But
it's gonna be created in righteousness. Righteousness is gonna dwell
here. That's all that's gonna be here. God Almighty's measured
it, but he's also set down a measurement, a requirement, the length and
the breadth of His people for acceptance with Him. God Almighty
has determined the boundaries of what will be acceptable for
His people with Him, for them to be found in heaven. All of His people, these beloved
sons and daughters, are going to have to meet the particular
measurement and account of his holiness. God Almighty gonna measure. And
he knows. Why are you here, Zechariah said,
I'm here to measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof,
what is the length thereof. How many? Yeah, yeah, I believe
that. But what's required of them?
This is a requirement. Here's what's, here's the requirement
right now. They must be holy. And God knows. God's gonna measure.
They must be without blame before him in love. And God knows. God knows the requirement. They
have, they must have no sin that will condemn them. And they must
possess a perfect righteousness. Whenever a man is looking for
a wife, a wife looking for a husband, they're looking for something.
They're looking for some characteristics. They're looking for something
that is appealing to them, something that's got some honor to it.
That's what God does. God's got a people that he's
everlastingly loved. And they fell in Adam's transgression.
But that didn't eliminate the demand for acceptance with Him. Why are you here? I'm here to
measure Jerusalem. And we're gonna have to meet
His standard if we're gonna be accepted with Him. So what did
the Lord do? Almighty God is going to have
to provide for them what they cannot provide for themselves.
His demand for righteousness shall not be eliminated. His
demand for holiness shall not be done away. The Spirit of God,
ages before the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ, Isaiah
28. Isaiah 28, verse 16. Ages before Christ actually came
into this world. The Spirit of God moved upon
a prophet named Isaiah to set forth what God Almighty provides
that His people might be acceptable, accepted in Him. Isaiah 28, verse 16 says this,
Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for
a foundation. a stone, a tried stone, a precious
cornerstone, a sure foundation. He that believeth shall not make
haste. He won't flee. He won't leave
for another foundation. Those that are built upon this
foundation, they're gonna stay right here. For that which is
demanded to be found, there must be a foundation upon which it's
built. God Almighty demands holiness,
righteousness, with him. So here the Lord provides the
foundation. It's a stone, it's a tried stone,
a proven stone. So the Lord's Jerusalem is measured,
not according to their best efforts, but according to the holiness
and purity of the one upon whom they're established and found
in, accepted in. Ephesians chapter 2. Ephesians
2, verses 19 to 22 says this, Ephesians 2, 19. Now therefore,
you're no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens
with the saints and with the household of God, and are built
upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself
being the chief cornerstone, in whom all the building fitly
framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord, in
whom ye also are builded together for habitation of God through
the Spirit." What are you here for? Zechariah said, I'm here
to measure Jerusalem. I'm here to measure Jerusalem.
And I'm going to determine the foundation upon which they're
built. and I'm gonna make them be lively stones. Put them together
perfectly. They, according to my good will
and pleasure, having put them in my son, they are accepted. I've measured them. And I'm well
pleased with him and I'm well pleased with them. Because in
my son, they are accepted by me. Thanks be unto God. Aren't you
glad it wasn't left up to me and you to decide what is it
gonna take to be accepted with God? My friend, there is no hope. Almighty God has established
the bounds, the measurement, the dimensions, the height, the
breadth. What is required, he provides. What does He require? Holiness.
He chose us in Christ that we should be holy and without blame
before Him in love. He requires righteousness. He
requires faithfulness, faithfulness, faithfulness. Turn to Galatians. Hold your place. Turn to Galatians
2.16. He requires faithfulness. Galatians 2.16. Galatians 2.16, knowing that
a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the
faith, that word right there is of,
I hope that's what your Bible says, but by the faith of Jesus
Christ. Even we have believed in Jesus
Christ that we might be justified by the faith of Christ. and not by the works of the law,
for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." Brethren,
what does God require? What is his measurement? What
is his dimensions of acceptance? What is faithfulness? Faithfulness,
holiness, righteousness, no blame. Why are you here? I'm here to
measure Jerusalem. Zechariah. Verses three and four
says, and behold, the angel that talked with me went forth, and
another angel went out to meet him and said unto him, run, speak
to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without
walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein. Now, we're
not told who this other man is. Zechariah saw a man with a measuring
line in his hand, but another man, he says, Came out, verse
three, the angel that talked with me went forth, and another
angel went out to meet him. And the one that Zechariah was
talking to said unto that other man that came out, you run and
you speak to this young man. You go talk to Zechariah. And
you say, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the
multitude of men and cattle therein. Now, we know this. We're not told who it is, and
I'm not gonna speculate, but all I can say is this. I do have
scriptural authority to say that there are ministering spirits
of the Lord, created by the Lord, angels that minister to them
who shall be heirs of salvation. This young man that came out,
the other one that entered in, and the one that Zechariah saw,
that man, the Lord Jesus himself, said to this other man, said,
you go tell Zechariah, Jerusalem's gonna be inhabited. There's no
doubt about it. That word of the surety of the
establishing of Jerusalem. He said here, it's gonna be established
with men and cattle therein. Robert Hawker made this statement.
He said, obviously, the physical Israel would have these cattle,
but again, Physical Israel is a spiritual picture and type
of the true Israel. And so this physical Israel that
we look at, we behold the church, the bride. And that was the Israel
that God gave unto the Lord Jesus Christ. And they're going to
be inhabited They're going to be. How many of them? All of
them. Turn to John 6. John 6. I love this truth. We quote it so much. John 6,
37 to 39. Here's the, here's the shirt. He told, he said, you go tell,
you go tell Zachariah. You go tell this man. You go
tell this young man. Jerusalem's going to be inhabited. There's
no doubt about it. I don't know how many of the
Lord's people that we preach to, either here or on the internet,
I don't know. But I know they're all out there.
And I know that all scripture says in John 6, 37, that the
Father giveth me. I love that all. All shall come
to me. And him that cometh to me, I
will in no wise out. No, cast out. For I came down
from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that
sent me. And this is the Father's will. Boy, you know, a lot of
times we say, well, we pray that we know the will of the Lord.
I can tell you this for a fact. I know what the will of the Lord
is concerning his bride, his church, his redeemed, his remnant. This is the Father's will, which
has sent me. And of all which he hath given me, I should lose
nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. How
many of the sheep are gonna be redeemed and saved? All of them,
all of them. Obviously, there's still some
left to call, because we're still here. But I can tell you this,
all of the Lords, all that are of the Lord, they're going to
be saved. And finally, not only will the
Lord's entire heavenly Jerusalem be established, on the sure foundation
of the Lord Jesus Christ. They're gonna be measured. Is
this not a comfort to you that know Him, that trust Him, have
cast yourself upon Him? When God measures you, when God
measures you in Christ, you are as Christ. You are as he is. That's what
scripture says. As he is, so are we. Thank God that the Lord doesn't
measure me in me, because I would come up short. I'd come up short. Lord, thank you for setting forth
of the truth that you measure your people according to your
son. the one in whom you're well pleased. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. So not only do I know that the
Lord's people, Jerusalem, heavenly Jerusalem, is going to be measured,
established, and accepted in Christ, I know also that they're going
to have him as their protection. and they're gonna have him in
their presence. I've said before, where two or
three are gathered together, I'm in the midst of you. Now
that's a sweet thought. That the Lord himself is here,
yep. What is he with other churches
that are preaching the truth and exalting him, yep. Every
place that he's raised up, hearing of his gospel, established the
church. I'm in the midst of you. And
right here, we have the surety of, of eternal protection and
his presence. Verse five, for I say that the
Lord will be under her a wall of fire round about, and will
be the glory in the midst of her. The Lord revealed as we
read a little bit ago in John 15. We're living in a world that
hates us because of the God that we love and serve. But though
the world and its false religion hates us for Christ's sake, though
we're exposed to the ravages of Satan who's constantly going
about seeking whom he may devour, The Lord has revealed something
here that is a great comfort to his people. He is our wall
of fire. Jerusalem, physical Jerusalem,
had a wall of protection around it. All the cities did. It protected
walls, it had gates that would close at night. The Lord said
that Jerusalem, the scripture says in verse five, I will be under her a wall of
fire round about, and will be the glory in the
midst of her. He hedges us about, and therefore
nothing can touch us except that which is for his glory and our
good. That's what, that's what Satan,
when Satan, Lord asked him about Joey, you consider my servant
Joey? He's a just, he's a perfect It eschews evil. Satan said,
well, yeah, I mean, but you got him hedged about, I can't get
to him. The Lord hedges his people about, and only that which the
Lord allows for their good, his glory, touches them. He is our city of refuge. He
is our hiding place from every storm, every trial, and enemy
of this life. And we need no other wall of
protection. We have him. So he is our wall
of fire. He's a consuming fire. He'll
consume anything that tries to touch God's people, his people.
But then he said also in closing, he said, I'm the glory in the
midst of her. I just, just to get that in our,
in our little fickle brain, just right now, who in the midst of
us right now, it's all the glory. And he said, we're two or three
together. I mean, I'm, I'm, I'm here. Who are we here to glorify? Who are we here to honor? Who?
Is it one of us? No. I love you. I appreciate, I thank God for
you. I thank God for the 21 years I've been with you. I thank the
Lord for that. We've come to know each other
and love each other and respect each other and claim, but who
gets the glory here? Who? The Lord says, I will be
the glory in the midst of her. He is the one deserving. He's
the one that has shown us grace, mercy, compassion. He sought
us out, washed us in His own blood, robed us in His righteousness. We're accepted before the throne
of God in Him. We're in perfect, eternal union. and therefore, he's deserving
of all the honor and the glory and the praise and his people
love it that way. I will be the glory in her midst. Lord, thank you for raising up
a place in Katy, West Virginia and establishing in the hearts
of your people that you are our glory. You are All the honor,
all the praise is deserving unto you. Amen.